"Protect the Great Precursor immediately!"
As the battle erupted, the Prophet of Truth immediately issued an order to the Covenant soldiers.
"We must not allow filthy humans to defile the holy body of the Great Precursor!!"
The Prophet of Truth was already near hysterical. It knew very well that if this terrifying human killed the Forerunner in full view of everyone, the Covenant's faith would completely collapse. The troops might even mutiny on the spot! So it urgently commanded the soldiers to act at once and protect the Great Precursor.
For the Covenant soldiers, this order presented no issue—they raised their weapons and charged forward with wild roars.
However… too bad for them that Duanmu Huai had already anticipated all of this.
"Strun—Bah—Qo!"
Guleya opened her mouth and let out an enraged dragon shout. Bolts of lightning descended from the sky, blasting into the Covenant soldiers and sending them flying. Meanwhile, Anne clasped her grimoire and pointed forward.
"Heroic spirit, answer my call—use all your strength to defeat them!!"
In response to Anne's summon, a towering steel knight wielding a spear and shield appeared out of thin air. It charged directly into the Covenant formations that had already been shaken to pieces by the dragon shout, scattering them instantly.
On the other side, Ranni gently shook her bell. A massive dragon materialized from soul ashes, roaring fiercely before spreading its wings and diving into the chaos. Meanwhile, Olgis raised both hands, unleashing invisible psychic force that spread outward like razor-sharp blades, slicing apart every Covenant soldier who dared to advance.
Facing Duanmu Huai's assault, the Preacher instinctively tried to retreat into the massive sphere behind him—but a dense wall of swirling bats blocked his path completely.
He looked up, seeing Banbi above him sticking out her tongue before giggling and vanishing into the swarm.
"Die!!"
At that moment, Duanmu Huai rushed up behind the Preacher and swung his Thunder Warhammer downward with full force. The Preacher grit his teeth and turned to block with both arms. The warhammer struck his forearms like a meteor, launching the Preacher across the battlefield like a baseball.
A perfect home run.
"BOOM!!!"
The Preacher crashed into the ground on the far side of the battlefield. The Covenant soldiers, locked in combat, froze instantly. They turned to stare in disbelief. In Covenant belief, the Forerunners were all-powerful gods—yet the scene before them was like watching Jesus get slapped out of heaven by a mortal. They couldn't believe their eyes.
"THUD!"
Duanmu Huai landed before the Preacher like a falling boulder. Warhammer in hand, he strode toward the Forerunner.
"Come on, get up, alien vermin. Fight me like a man—face-to-face, fist-to-fist! Or are you like the T'au? A pathetic race of weak, cowardly shooters who only fight from maximum range? Hmm? Are your hands only good for jerking off your own kind? Answer me! Trash!!!"
"AAAAAAHHHH!!!"
Enraged, the Preacher forced himself to stand. He clenched his fist and threw a punch at Duanmu Huai. Duanmu Huai didn't dodge. Instead, he caught the Preacher's fist in his hand. Then he twisted—ripping the entire arm off like twisting apart a rope of dough.
"OOOHHHH———!!"
The Preacher screamed in agony. But Duanmu Huai didn't stop. He circled behind him, then swung his warhammer like a piling hammer, smashing both of the Preacher's calves. Bones shattered brutally. Duanmu Huai stepped on the broken legs, forcing him to kneel.
Then Duanmu Huai grabbed the Preacher by the head, staring coldly into his distorted face.
"Weak, pathetic, vile alien. You truly have no honor. But this is the end. Your civilization—everything you are—will be utterly annihilated. Along with your laughable pride and the last of your kind, vanish into the stars!"
Before the Preacher could respond, Duanmu Huai tightened his grip. His fingers pierced through the helmet like metal claws, stabbing into the skull and into the brain. With a violent pull—
He tore the Preacher's head clean off.
"SPURT—————"
Blood gushed from the torn neck. Duanmu Huai held the wide-eyed, unblinking head high in the air—and crushed it in his hand.
"CRACK!!"
In full view of the Covenant soldiers and the Prophets, the Preacher's head exploded into pulp.
Duanmu Huai tossed away the mangled flesh and raised his warhammer, glaring at the Covenant troops.
"For humanity, for the Inquisition—DIE!!"
With a roar, he leaped into the frenzied Covenant ranks.
What followed was a massacre.
Witnessing their revered Precursor die so brutally shattered the Covenant's morale completely. The Brutes screamed and fled, swinging their arms wildly. The Jackals and Elites fell into chaos—some tried to rally, others ran, and some simply dropped to their knees and begged Duanmu Huai for mercy.
Naturally, it was all meaningless.
Banbi directed her bat swarm to seal all exits. Under Duanmu Huai's assault and the girls' combined attacks, the Covenant troops crumbled quickly. In a short time, the elite unit was annihilated.
"THUD!!"
The Prophet of Mercy lay dead on the ground, its twisted expression frozen in terror. The Prophet of Truth trembled on the floor, watching a pair of armored boots approach. It lifted its head shakily and met Duanmu Huai's cold stare.
"Moments ago, the Hawthorne Star System was destroyed. Now your race joins them. This is the fate of traitors. Your species is annihilated… and your soul will burn in the Inquisition's furnace."
"No, please, I—we only...…"
"Traitors deserve no sympathy."
Duanmu Huai raised his foot and stomped down. The Prophet of Truth twitched like a crushed snake—then burst into a splash of blood.
"Hmph."
Duanmu Huai glanced at the remains and turned away. He saw the girls gathered around Anne, fussing over her.
"What happened?"
As he approached, Guleya answered.
"Anne was hit by a Covenant stray bullet earlier… Lorena is treating her now."
"Haah… what did I say?"
Duanmu Huai sighed helplessly and looked at Anne, who was receiving Lorena's healing.
"Honestly, next time we go out, I should prepare armor for you."
Among his team, Anne had the weakest defense. Guleya was a dragonkin, naturally durable. Lorena had divine protection. Banbi could surround herself with bats. And Ranni and Olgis were puppets—losing limbs or even a head was barely an inconvenience.
Only Princess Anne was truly… fragile.
Duanmu Huai had suggested giving Anne armor before, but—
"I don't want it! It's ugly! I'll look like a metal can!"
Anne rejected him immediately. Compared to Duanmu Huai's bulky physique, her petite, slender figure would look hilariously mismatched in heavy armor. And… she wasn't wrong.
"Then what kind of armor do you want?"
"Something light! Pretty! And really gorgeous!"
Good grief. Are you trying to become a magical girl? Where am I supposed to find something like that?
Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes.
Of course, there were magical-girl event outfits in the game, but those came from loot boxes… and Duanmu Huai had no faith in his luck.
Hmm?
Wait a minute. There was that one event… was it Super O-God Knight or Cosmic Pirate…?
Realizing something, Duanmu Huai's eyes suddenly lit up. He looked meaningfully at Anne.
"So you mean—as long as I find pretty, lightweight armor, you'll wear it. Right?"
"Of course! As long as it's good-looking. I'm not wearing anything that makes me look like a metal can. Horrible."
Anne puffed her cheeks. She was a princess of Manaria, after all—she couldn't wear something so bulky and embarrassing. It would ruin Manaria's dignity.
"Heh. I understand."
Duanmu Huai quietly pressed his recorder and saved her words.
With this recorded, she wouldn't have an excuse to refuse later.
(End of Chapter)